Should you join the nuclear Navy? (NUPOC)
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
Perhaps you, or somebody for whom you care, is considering joining the nuclear Navy. You might already have heard the recruiters promising the world. I will provide you with one objective critique of the "nuke" experience in terms of what the Navy promises versus what it delivers.
Author and Army veteran John T. Reed inspired me to write this with his article, "Should you go to, or stay at, West Point?" Mr. Reed's observations about the Army are utterly relevant to the Navy. Peruse his article if you have time.
At the age of 20, I committed to serve in the U.S. Navy via the NUPOC delayed commissioning program. I attended OCS a month after graduating from college, received a commission as an ensign (O-1), served on active duty for 5.5 years, and honorably left active duty as a lieutenant (O-3). I worked on a Los Angeles class fast attack submarine home ported at Pearl Harbor, HI for about 3 years of my active duty experience, which included a 2003 deployment to the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. The rest of my time was training and shore based work (a.k.a. "shore tour").
My following analysis of what the Navy nuclear program promises to do for you is based on claims presented on the Navy's recruiting websites and my personal recollections of interacting with recruiters. If you are thinking about going the enlisted route, my comments should generally still be relevant, although I highly recommend speaking with somebody who already served as an enlisted nuke. Give no weight to second hand information from spouses and mothers or from promises coming from people still in the military about what service in the program will do for them after they get out.
| The Sales Pitch | Reality |
| The Navy's nuclear program is an elite nuclear engineering program. | FALSE. You will not research or design anything while in the Navy, which is contrary to what the word engineering implies to a student. The recruiters technically aren't lying because the broader, post-academic use of engineering includes what nukes actually do, but the recruiters know they are misleading you.
The Navy will train you to be a nuclear operator. If you want to be a nuclear engineer, get a relevant engineering degree, and go to work for a reactor manufacturer, such as General Electric or Westinghouse. The program is challenging, but it is not as selective as it advertises. It only requires one semester of calculus and one semester of calculus based physics. I interviewed with the Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion, a four star admiral, with a group of around 20 people. The admiral only declined one interviewee. During my time in the Navy, the nuclear community was actually over-manned with junior officers, so it can't be that selective. |
| Excitement!!! Being a Navy nuke is soooo exciting!!!! | FALSE. There is no glory or excitement in nuclear operation. It is utterly monotonous, repetitive, and mind-numbing. In the nuclear world, boring is good.
A typical shift (standing “watch”) involves staring at meters and gauges, reviewing logs of those instruments' indications, listening to people complain about the Navy, listening to people discuss what they will do when they get out of the Navy, and little more. You might think this is purely a matter of opinion. It isn't. If you don't believe me, ask around. This experience is in no way unique to me or my former submarine. |
| You will do important work that makes the nation and world safer. | HIGHLY DEBATABLE. I'll leave it at that.
You will certainly be told frequently, once you're in the military, that this statement is true. |
| You will be highly desirable to civilian industry after you leave the military. | MISLEADING. Some companies, such as General Electric, like recruiting former military officers. Note that I write “military officers” generally; not “Navy nuke officers” in particular.
I am aware of only one industry that specifically wants former Navy nukes—the commercial nuclear power industry, including supporting services. If you know for a fact right now that you want to climb the operations ladder at a civilian nuclear generating station, the Navy might be the way to go. The idea that all, or even most, employers will crawl over each other to hire you because you were in the nuke program is unequivocally FALSE. Employers look for directly relevant experience on your resume. If it isn't there—and it probably isn't if you're trying to do something dissimilar from what you did in the military—you will most likely not be interviewed. |
| You will gain valuable leadership experience at a young age. | TRUE-ish. The Navy delivered on its promise of putting me in charge of people at a young age. However, I would not say that this equates to leadership. What I really learned, mostly by trial and error, was the art of supervision.
Enlisted caveat: While this is a benefit for young officers, it is a detriment for enlisted submarine sailors. Supervising reactor plant operations is primarily the role of the officers lowest in rank and seniority. This means that enlisted nuclear personnel constantly have to deal with the least experienced, least knowledgeable officers to get anything accomplished. |
| Driving a surfaced submarine is an amazing experience. | TRUE. My best Navy memory is of the time I stood “Surfaced Officer of the Deck” as we approached Australia. The weather was great, and the water was calm. The continent was rising up in front of me. I hadn't been qualified to do this for very long, but at that moment it was just me, another guy serving as my lookout, and the $900M warship upon which I sat.
If only these types of things had occupied more than about 0.12% (literally) of my total time in the military . . . (sigh). |
| You will see the world. | NOT GAURANTEED. This is a crap shoot. When I deployed in 2003, the political climate did not favor us visiting many ports. Submarines also have special needs that prevent them from visiting some ports where surface ships or non-nuclear ships are free to dock.
In general, I recommend against joining any branch of the military to “see the world.” If you have the resources, check out the Semester at Sea. You will visit more of the world in a few months than you will visit in a decade of military service. |
| The pay is good. | TRUE (by common standards). I earned more money than all of my college friends my first 5 years out of school. If I had stayed Navy and returned to Hawaii for another submarine tour, I would be earning solidly over $100k per year and paying only about 15% in taxes because a good chunk of military income is tax free.
By comparison, I'm paying about 34% in taxes now. That means I'm keeping about as much as during my later years in the Navy even though my pre-tax income is much higher. It has been a kick in the balls. The NUPOC program also allowed me to exit college with zero debt and money in the bank. I'm very thankful for that. College debt is a serious problem for many 20- and even 30-somethings these days. Keep in mind that money is only one factor you should consider. Military personnel tend to work very long hours. For much of my time in the Navy, I would have been happier to work half the time for half the money. How much is your life worth? |
I hope you find this helpful. If there is sufficient demand, I will address additional areas of concern. In conclusion, here's a satirical video from The Onion that demonstrates exactly what the military is really like. It's about the Army, but the Navy is the same (minus the combat).
